Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard
who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received
notice today that the military is about to fire him. Why? Because he
came out of the closet as a gay man on national television.

Ignorance begets ignorance. Ignorance of homosexuality will now make us more ignorant about the Arab world.

Meanwhile, as Matt points out, repealing DADT won't ever be convenient. There won't be any politically expedient about it. It's the sort of move you may well lose some votes over. At some point, Obama is going to have to honor liberal tradition, swallow hard, and throw the long ball. It's not suppose to be easy to do the right thing. That's why so many don't do it.

It's worth reading Reihan's response here. I think he thinks he went a little too hard. He offers a worthwhile explanation why. And here's Darren Hutchinson, who offered some of the more substantive critique of Rosen's legal reading. Lastly, we have Glenn one more time. In the words of Method Man, flying guillotines here they come.

As for me, don't expect me to push this much further. I've said my piece, and stand by it. It's there for all to read. I'm not in this for blood. At least not most of the time.

On the humility point, I have to say: I don't think humility is, as TNC
suggests, a floor at all. Given the extremely high levels of
self-satisfaction I encounter in the universe of opinion journalism all
the time, I actually think humility is pretty rare. But that's an
honest disagreement.

Well, not really. Reihan is obviously right. Humility is pretty rare--in the practical observable sense. I guess I meant in a more abstract sense, as in, "humility is the floor for anyone I'd want to read." In the context of opinion journalism, I guess it makes a certain sense to give writers credit for humility. But that's a kind of sick statement on opinion journalism. Perhaps the old "I take care of my kids!" black male battle-cry is a better analogy.

Jon Stewart airs Marion Barry out. Two things struck me about that video. The utter and complete hatred in the eyes of "community leaders" protesting the council's vote. It's like that Nietzsche quote about battling monsters. Second, the spectacle of a dude who put a city at risk so he could get high and get some ass, railing against the immortality of gay marriage.

These are last days of a certain type of black leader who glories in crowds, placards, sanctimony and indignation. They're getting their kicks in while they can. Nothing else awaits.

A reader sent this note to me. It offers a portrait of the sort dialogue that's going unreported in the city:

I was at a meeting of the Ward 4 Dem's last night in
Washington, D.C., where residents had a passionate but respectful
conversation about marriage equality (with both sides voicing their
views) and two of DC's Council Members (Ward 4's Councilmember Muriel
Bowser and at-large Councilmember Phil Mendelson) discussing their
votes, before the room passed a resolution advocating support for FULL
marriage quality (not just the "out-of-state" provision passed this
week) by a vote of 36 to 6.
Ward 4 is one of the most diverse wards in the city, and it is very
representative demographically (racially, ethnically and
socio-economically) of the city as a whole. I think that the tenor of
the room last night suggests that the apocalyptic threats of
Councilmember Barry and his cadre of suburban Maryland ministers may be
exaggerated. (After living in D.C. for more than 20 years, I have seen
the many faces of Marion Barry, so nothing he does really is
surprising.) Even if he thinks that he is representing the views of the
voters of Ward 8 (who I will concede generally are different from those
in other wards in the city), I think that Council Member Barry is
getting it wrong.
I will agree with other writers to your BLOG that D.C. is in many ways
a Southern city, and its politics are impacted by the fact that it
remains a majority-African American city. But D.C. residents are some
of the most politically educated and progressive in the United States.
Certainly we saw last night that Barry does NOT speak for African
Americans city-wide. Councilmember Bowser succinctly and eloquently
described her support of marriage equality is a simple matter of
justice. And Ward 4 Dem Chairperson Deborah Royster shared a rather
poignant story from her childhood about her family being refused
lodging in a Virginia hotel because of racial segregation, saying that
that experience of discrimination was etched into her memory and that
she cannot stand by and condone other forms of discrimination.
I am more optimistic than I was prior to meeting with my Ward 4
neighbors. I think - with some good grassroots outreach throughout the
city - we can win this fight, even in Barry's backyard. The question is
whether outside forces will allow DC residents to have this dialogue
without their interference. I am less optimistic about that.

That last sentence is key. The history of bigots meddling in D.C.'s affairs is extensive and stretches back nearly 100 years. Then it was white supremacy. Now it's anti-gay bigotry. Anyone interested in reading up on the story of how Southern racists lorded over D.C. for years should check out Dream City by Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood. It's indispensable to understanding why a city would re-elect a man caught on tape smoking crack.

Read it here. I think it backs off some of the more problematic aspects of the piece. I understand the issue with headlines--it's happened to me. But the fact is, you're still responsible. "My editor did it" doesn't work. Still, his response is reflective and he avoids getting defensive. I can't always say as much of myself.

In the 1960s, both parties were in flux. The Democrats had
traditionally been the racist party, while the Republicans had been far
supportive of civil rights. But then both parties made a fateful
choice. The Democratic Party - and its base - decided to support and
fight for civil rights. It also made a lasting, long-term commitment
to equality, and has actively embraced and promoted diversity for the
past 40 years.

The Republican Party - institutionally,
that is - went a different way. They adopted the Southern Strategy.
They demagogued welfare queens. More generally, the party was
institutionally hostile to laws and regulations and practices intended
to correct centuries of state-sanctioned discrimination. To people
like John Roberts, the world apparently began anew in 1964.

For
years, the Republicans benefited from this choice. Nixon won. Reagan
won. The South shifted to the GOP, giving it nearly 12 years of
Congressonal control. Times were good.

But the checks are now
coming due. The Democrats are beginning to see the benefits of the
choices they made in the 1960s - the choices they remained firmly
committed to over the years. Demographically, the country is getting
less white. Individually, the most promising young African-American
candidates and officials (people like Obama, Artur Davis, and Deval
Patrick) are all firmly within the Democratic Party. Indeed, an entire
generation of African-Americans have come of political age knowing nothing but hostility from Republicans and loyalty from Democrats.

Admittedly,
Obama is an once-in-a-generation political talent. And I'm not taking
anything away from him. But his rise must be seen in the larger
context of the institutional commitment that the United States (and the
Democratic Party specifically) made to diversity.

Some of my commenters will, rightfully, point out that the Dems civil rights roots go back even further than the 60s. But I think Publius's point holds up. LBJ was playing long ball--even if he didn't know it.

Anyway, most of the post is about Jeff Sessions, a man about whom I have nothing enlightening to say about. I don't know why, I just don't. I'm unsurprised by his past. I'm unsurprised that he's been a GOP senator for some time. Thus I'm unsurprised by his elevation. Again, as with Marion Barry yesterday, "GOP Senator Old Comments On Race Cause Controversy" doesn't scream headline. At least not for me.

This is your party of Reagan, with the Gipper's smile fallen away. This is your party of States' Rights in Philadelphia, Mississippi. In the words of Bill Parcells, You are what your record says you are. I don't what else there is to say.

I stand by what I said about the Ricci case. I think there's a horrid history of discrimination in the firefighting ranks. I also think that the city of New Haven's means of addressing that history was hamfisted, ill-thought and will ultimately retard the fight to remedy the wounds of history.

But it's sobering to wind up on the same side as Pat Buchanan, who thinks that the Ricci case is the equivalent of Jim Crow. For a reminder of who Pat Buchanan is, here is his racist assessment of black America:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It
was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships,
grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian
salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity
blacks have ever known.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than
white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on
welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants,
student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and
poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into
the mainstream.

Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all
over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens,
adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?

I always found this quote interesting because it originates from the same racist thinking that Byron York employed last week--that black people don't actually count. In this instance, the idea isn't about polling, it's about taxes. By Buchanan's lights, black people do not exist as tax-payers, but as social sponges. And the converse is true--no white people use government services, they simply pay taxes that are transferred to blacks

The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.

I think Buchanan's opinion on Ricci comes out of his own quasi-white nationalist impulses. He's one of a legion of people beating the drum on this case, who aren't so much concerned with discrimination--as they are concerned about discrimination against people like them.

The dishonesty of it all is bracing. I don't believe in argument for sport, and so I'm somewhat ill-equipped. Still, it's times like these when you wonder whether argument has any real point.

UPDATE: Edited this post for a few embarrassing errors. Among them, Pat Buchanan as a black nationalist.

Jeff Rosen has been raked over the coals for his not-positive
assessment of Sonia Sotomayor. What I find remarkable is this -- Rosen
was being so cautious and careful that he acknowledged his limitations in passing judgment, a good and responsible thing to do, and his humility is being used as a lacerating strike against him.

Maybe. As I've said, the headline was "The Case Against Sonia Sotomayer." The subhed was "Indictments Of Obama's Frontrunner To Replace Souter."

Reihan continues:

Rosen explicitly invited readers to take a different view, and to
discount his assessment. Some of Rosen's detractors say, "Well in that
case, why did you write anything at all?" Rest assured, most people who
weigh in on public controversies of this kind know far less about the
subjects of these controversies than Rosen knows about Sotomayor.

Right. But, in the age of blogging and 24-hour commentary, that's an appallingly low standard. If all it takes to occupy the "respectable intellectual center" is to know more than your average commenter, than there isn't much respectable or intellectual about the center. Perhaps that's the point.

Having recognized that he was relaying strongly negative assessment,
Rosen checked himself before he wrecked himself, which is the best one
can do. Should Rosen not draw on the knowledge of legal insiders to
sketch out potential criticisms?

Reihan is a colleague and one of my favorite writers from across the ideological way. But I don't find this very credible. I don't think anyone is seriously arguing that Rosen should "not draw on the knowledge of legal insiders." It's helpful to read the damning graph again:

I haven't read enough of Sotomayor's opinions to have a confident sense
of them, nor have I talked to enough of Sotomayor's detractors and
supporters, to get a fully balanced picture of her strengths.

The very process of journalism is exactly what Rosen said he didn't do. I'm fairly confident that if you turned in a piece with a graph like that to any competent J-school professor, you would fail. I'm not sure why Rosen should be held to a lower standard.

Reihan wants us to lay off on Rosen because he exercised "humility." But "humility" is the floor for a decent writer--not the ceiling. You don't get credit for not beating your wife. You don't get credit for admitting that you didn't do your job.

It's worth reading Reihan's response to me, Glenn's response to Rosen. I don't know that I have any more to say,except this: I know a number of commenters are P\Oed by this whole affair, as they should be. But, for me, at some point, I need to stop swinging and get back to studying.

My views on all of this here and for all to see--I change nothing. But I can't repeatedly restate those points.I'm not built like that.

It's amazing how things shift. I think Nas summed it up best, "A thug changes and love changes and best friends become strangers." For the record, looking back on this, though it's benign, I'm not convinced it's better. I'm more Hawaiian Sophie.

I meant to bang on this more, but I got so pissed off when I was writing. Anyway, this point was made in comments:

Focusing on Barry's opposition to
recognizing gay marriage causes us to miss the forest for the trees; in
a majority black city with a majority black political leadership, the
City Council voted overwhelmingly (12 to 1) IN SUPPORT of recognizing
gay marriage (albeit ones performed outside of DC). This represents a
great political victory for the gay rights movements, and refutes the
meme which claims that the African-American community is
monolithically, implacably, and irresolutely opposed to recognizing gay
civil marriage.

I don't think that can be said loudly enough. There are 12 members of the City Council. Seven of them are black. One is Marion Barry. To anyone who's followed Barry's career, I'm not sure why "Marion Barry Is A Demagogue" is breaking news. It's really wrong to erase the other six votes on that measure, and make Barry the face of blacks on the Council, and blacks in the City.

Here's something else--consider the fact that D.C. is in the South. Not the deep South, but the South all the same. It's bordered by two slave states, and one Confederate state. I can't think of any other southern jurisdiction that's gone this far on gay marriage. To the contrary, most Southern states have set about the business of a constitutional ban.

That leaves with a very uncomfortable fact--the most progressive place for gays in the South, is also the blackest. I wouldn't draw too much causality from that statement. Much like I wouldn't draw too much causality from black and Prop 8. But that didn't stop anyone then, did it? Why should it stop them now?

1.) Andrew is vulnerable on this in a way, that I am not. This is serious business for gay people. I think it's a mistake to totally disregard Barry and to disregard Ward 8. I suspect that if you did, indeed, poll Ward 8 you'd find a lot of opposition to gay marriage.

2.) I have some deadlines looming over me, and if I didn't, I'd expend a little shoe-leather myself and try to get a picture of what's actually happening in my old home. I feel like the Post's coverage has been pretty one-dimensional and wanting. Maybe that's a sign of the times.

3.) I think having said all that, that is another case of the worst of us repping for all of us. Barry represents one Ward, in a majority black city. It is true that it's a heavily black Ward--but Southeast, and by extension Marion Barry, can't speak for all of D.C., any more than Harlem can speak for Jamaica, Queens. Eleanor Holmes Norton is just a black as Marion Barry.

I've argued strongly against white gay people expecting automatic sympathy from blacks, on the basis of shared victimhood. There was no shared sympathy extended to blacks from the Irish, or the Italians. There likely will be none in the future from Mexican-Americans.

That said, as a black person, it is painful and infuriating to watch this unfold. There is something utterly unreflective about people who can only use their pain to advance their own narrowly-defined interests, who can't use it to see the humanity of others. I think people who argue that gay marriage is going to "destroying our youth" are a fucking joke, and I will treat them as such.

Nothing threatens "our youth" more than credentialed ignorance--especially when the credentials are claimed from up high. Somewhere on the internet there is a place where reasonable people are interested in high tea with bigots, and converting those who are on the fence. I don't want any part of it. Compassion is a resource too. My stores are limited. There will be no quarter here.